COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO HOLD FORTY-SECOND SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 2 - 13 MARCH
Press Release
WOM/1029
COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO HOLD FORTY-SECOND SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 2 - 13 MARCH
19980227 Background Release Discussions on the human rights of women, the girl child, women and armed conflict, and violence against women will be the main focus of the forty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women, to be held at Headquarters from 2 to 13 March.The Commission, which is a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, is charged with monitoring implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which is an agenda for women's empowerment.
Under its multi-year programme of work until 2000, the Commission focuses on some of the 12 critical areas of concern to women contained in the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. This year's topics -- human rights of women, the girl child, women and armed conflict, and violence against women -- will be debated by expert panels, resulting in action-oriented recommendations for adoption by the Commission.
The Secretary-General's analytical report on the thematic issues before the Commission (document E/CN.6/1998/5) provides recommendations and conclusions of expert group meetings convened during 1997 by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, on three of the critical areas of concern being taken up by the Commission.
On "women and armed conflict", the focus was on gender persecution as a follow-up to an earlier expert group meeting on women in power and decision- making that dealt with women's participation in conflict resolution. The experts said greater attention should be paid to understanding the way that characteristics other than gender, including race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, play in determining the way that women experience armed conflict. The fact-finding and monitoring capacities of United Nations human rights mechanisms, and national and international non-governmental organizations should be strengthened, they said.
Discussions on "human rights of women" focused on their economic and social rights and the impact of gender on the full realization of those rights. United Nations Charter-based bodies were urged to pay greater attention to economic and social rights of women. The experts called for the early completion of work on the adoption of optional protocols establishing communications procedures under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Commission was asked to further consider enhancing its communications procedure, particularly its transparency and to ensure the independence of the body reviewing communications. The experts urged the appointment of a thematic special rapporteur in the field of women's economic and social rights.
The expert group meeting on "the girl child" focused on the rights of the adolescent girls, particularly those in need of special protection. The experts urged governments to pay special attention to the protection of girls from sexual exploitation and abuse, harmful traditional practices, including early marriage, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Governments should also address special needs of girls in the situation of armed conflict; refugee girls; working girls and girls with disability. The experts said education, family, culture, the socio-economic environment, law and legal reform, and the role of the media were critical for creating an enabling environment for the realizations of the human rights of adolescent girls and their empowerment. On the issue of "violence against women", the report states that Member States might wish to consider developing a common basis for the collection of data and statistics on the subject, and to recommend that all such cases be systematically recorded. It calls for emphasis on legislative, evidentiary and procedural reform, as well as public awareness and advocacy strategies, to eliminate violence against women.
At the forthcoming session, the Commission is expected to continue to take measures to fulfil its assigned role as the preparatory body for the year 2000 high-level General Assembly plenary review and assessment of the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Beijing Platform for Action.
In a report on the issue (document A/52/789), the Secretary-General suggests that the review could be carried out at the start of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly -- between 6 and 15 September 2000 -- as part of the regular session or as a special session. Another possibility would be to have it as part of the Commission's forty-fourth session before the fifty- fifth session of the Assembly in the year 2000. He also indicates that a special session of the Assembly in the year 2000 could be held for the review, either from 22 to 26 May or from 5 to 9 June.
The Commission will also conduct a comprehensive review of implementation of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women during the period 1996-2001. Structured around the 12 critical areas of concern contained in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the plan reflects relevant mandates from other recent United Nations conferences and summits. A progress report of the Secretary-General (document E/CN.6/1998/3) outlines efforts of United Nations system entities in 1996 and 1997 to carry out the plan.
- 3 - Press Release WOM/1029 27 February 1998
An oral report will be presented by the Special Adviser to the Secretary- General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Angela King, on the progress of work of the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality, which she chairs. The Committee is monitoring full integration of gender perspectives in the work of all thematic task forces on conference's follow-up established by the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC).
Also to be considered during the session is the joint work plan of the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressing matters such as the cooperation between the two on the work of treaty bodies and the preparation of the various optional protocols.
Under a sub-item on emerging issues, trends and new approaches affecting the situation of women or equality between women and men, the Commission will consider the status of older women and make relevant recommendations. A report of the Secretary-General (document E/CN.6/1998/4) on the subject focuses on support systems for older persons, including financial assistance. It also highlights their situation and suggests gender-sensitive policies and programmes to address their problems. The report observes that very little research has been done on how changing caregiving patterns affect women and men differently.
The situation of Palestinian women will also be discussed. A report of the Secretary-General (document E/CN.6/1998/2/Add.2) states that their condition has not improved in the period under review. Considerable efforts were being made by the Palestinian authorities and civil society to improve their economic and social conditions, including legislative revisions. In the follow-up to the Beijing Conference, the international community, including the United Nations system, has provided assistance at various levels to implement the recommendations contained in the Platform for Action, the report notes. It adds that the status and living conditions of Palestinian women are closely linked with the progress of the peace process.
Other reports before the Commission include one on national action plans and strategies from 85 Member States for implementing the Beijing Platform for Action (document E/CN.6/1998/6). A regional breakdown showed that 29 per cent of Member States from Africa submitted a plan, 41 per cent from Asia and the Pacific, 38 per cent from Eastern Europe, 41 per cent from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 66 per cent from Western European and Other States.
A report of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on its sixteenth and seventeenth sessions (document A/52/38/Rev.1) and a note by the Secretary-General transmitting the results of the eighteenth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (E/CN.6/1998/CRP.1) are also before the Commission.
- 4 - Press Release WOM/1029 27 February 1998
Membership
The 45 members of the Commission on the Status of Women are elected for four-year terms on the following basis: 13 from African States; 11 from Asian States; four from Eastern European States; nine from Latin America and the Caribbean States; and eight from Western European and Other States.
The 1998 membership of the Commission is as follows: Angola, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States.
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